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Tertius Wessels and clinic co-ordinator Sibusiso D'Afrique get ready to hit the parking bays, inviting drivers to use the Trucking Against Aids facilities at Hiway Junction. |
It has been estimated that 56% of SA's truck drivers are HIV positive. This is an alarming statistic and apart from the tragic spectre it casts over our road transport future, it should galvanise all stake holders in the industry to implement programmes to help not only prevent the contraction of the disease but to assist those who are already infected.
Paul Collings encounters an initiative that clearly demonstrates the power a well-managed and committed partnership can wield in the fight against HIV/AIDS.
The N3 between Gauteng and Durban is a hotbed of HIV/AIDS transmission within the truck driver community. Sex workers earn a living supplying relief to hardworking and lonely drivers as they rest along the route, be that at truck stops or random sites adjoining the highway. "It is not uncommon for a sex worker to service more than two - Three drivers a night," says Tertius Wessels of Trucking Against AIDS, a programme set up in 1999 by the National Bargaining Council for the Road Freight Industry (NBC) to create HIV/AIDS and STI awareness among long distance truck drivers and sex workers.
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The two Sprinters have clocked up over 100 000km each in their fight against the scourge of Africa. |
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Inside the mobile clinic.
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The clinic is equipped with medication and trained nursing staff who work from 18H00 to midnight seven days a week to treat and educate anyone in need. |
Funding the fight
"With the rate of contraction on the increase at the turn of the millennium, it was imperative that something be done to help stem the tide. With the help of sponsors like Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles, the RFA and other key industry players such as Imperial Logistics, Unitrans, UTI, Caltex and Engen, a total of R4.3 million has been invested in the project," he says. "Swedish international development cooperation agency, Sida, has recently made approximately R6 million available which will enable the project to open additional roadside wellness centres and mobile clinics and embark on aggressive awareness education drives in the next three years."
A growing footprint
Twelve roadside wellness centres have been established in all provinces along the national trucking routes in South Africa, adds Wessels. "Each roadside wellness centre consists of two modified six-meter containers. One container is fully equipped with medication and a qualified nursing sister who provides primary healthcare and treatment to patients suffering from sexually transmitted diseases. The second container is equipped for use as an awareness education and training facility."
While Transport Minister, Jeff Radebe, has called for stricter medical criteria when issuing PrDPs, especially in the light of increasing trends in diabetes and HIV/AIDS (both of which can affect driving ability if not controlled), Wessels believes the majority of the players in the trucking industry are not doing enough.
"The government depends on industry to move people and goods safely around the country, but it can't fight HIV/AIDS on its own. The industry needs to self-regulate and make recommendations to government for improvements," he says.
Mobile treatment action
To recognise the success Trucking Against Aids has had over the last seven years, media personnel were invited to a vehicle handover ceremony in June held at the Harrismith Highway Junction Truck Stop, where Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicle's Gert Grobler applauded the efforts of all the people involved in making the wellness centres a success.
"The fact that the rate of contraction of HIV/AIDS and STIs has dropped amongst the driver community along this route is testimony to the commitment of all those involved in Trucking Against Aids. Pivotal to the success of the project are two Mercedes-Benz Sprinters, fitted out as mobile clinics to offer treatment and education to both drivers and sex workers along all our major routes. The people who operate these units, along with their colleagues at the wellness centres are forging the blueprint for Africa's strategy to defeat the HIV/AIDS epidemic," said Grobler.
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